USING a mobile phone while driving was a contributory factor in seven serious crashes in Warwickshire over the past two years.
Most of the incidents happened in south Warwickshire, and those involved suffered life-changing injuries.
Over the same period some 650 people have received penalty notices for driving while using a phone.
Now Warwickshire Police is reminding residents it is one of the top four factors which cause death and injury on the roads, alongside not wearing a seatbelt, drink and drug driving and speeding. It is also illegal.
Insp Jem Mountford said “We are seeing a worrying shift in attitudes to mobile phone use behind the wheel and this is raising many safety concerns.
“We are seeing more drivers looking down to use a handheld mobile phone to use social media apps, select music, check emails or texting while driving when they should be focusing on the road ahead. We are asking these drivers to consider how their actions could affect themselves and other people.
“Whoever you are texting or calling, whether parents, family, or friends, they would not want you to have a collision potentially injuring yourself or someone else.”
Warwickshire Police is urging people to submit dashcam footage they have of someone using a phone while driving as part of ‘Operation Snap’.
They say while distracted driving is impaired to a degree similar to that of a drink driver, and people distracted by their phones are four times more likely to crash.
Visit www.warwickshire.police.uk for more information.
